Esperanto, the International Language

Come join us for a free, 10-week introduction to Esperanto, the international language. You don't need to be a UR student to join: all are welcome!

Classes start Tuesday, May 30th (new date) and meet weekly from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. in the Welles-Brown room of Rush Rhees Library at the University of Rochester. To sign up, please contact the instructor at <hoss at lodestone dot org>

Goals

Students will gain a basic command of Esperanto and a solid basis for future study. By the end of the course you should be able to understand basic spoken and written Esperanto and conduct basic conversations with speakers from all over the world.

If there is interest, later in the summer we'll make pen-pals with fellow Esperanto students who live in Rochester's sister cities in France, Russia, Japan and Poland.

Instruction

Weekly lessons will focus on developing communication skills. We'll be using text, video and audio media to teach you how to read, write, understand, and speak Esperanto.

Some class time will also be devoted to the history and literature of this fascinating language, and the unique role it plays in defending language rights and solving problems of international communication. We'll discuss some of the practical advantages of Esperanto when travelling.

Materials

Our primary text will be the excellent Esperanto: Learning and Using the International Language by David Richardson. It provides an excellent all-in-one introduction to the language for English speakers, with lessons, history, a basic two-way dictionary and a short reader.

Lessons will be supplemented with chapters from the newly released video course, Esperanto, Pasporto al la Tuta Mondo. We'll also be sampling a wide range of Esperanto media from around the world, including news magazines, radio broadcasts, poetry, cartoons, classical literature, and even some pop music.

Costs

The course is free! Still, you'll want a copy of the textbook. Amazon charges $18 plus shipping, but I'll have discounted copies available in class for $10. (Please let me know in advance if you're coming so I can bring enough books!)

Homework and exams

No exams or grades, but we'll have homework each week that should be easy and (hopefully!) fun. Esperanto can be mastered in a fraction of the time it takes to master national languages like English or French, but it still requires an investment of time and effort.

To really get the most benefit from this course you'll need to spend at least a few minutes each day using the language. In addition to the assignments, each week we'll have handouts and downloadable media to help you hone your skills.

People

Instructor: Hoss Firooznia <hoss at lodestone dot org>

Hoss is a graduate of the University of Rochester and has been involved with Esperanto since 1991. He studied Esperanto at the University of Hartford and has been an instructor for the English version of ELNA's Free Esperanto Course. In 2005 he was chosen to teach a course titled Esperanto 101: Learning and Using the International Language at the University of Rochester.

Guest speaker: Marian Ghilea

Marian is a Ph.D student at the University of Rochester and a former correspondent for Monato, an Esperanto news magazine published in Belgium. Marian first learned Esperanto in his native Romania; he also speaks English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and of course Romanian, his native tongue.

Guest speaker: Thomas Alexander

Thomas Alexander and his family are Rochester residents who have used Esperanto in their travels across Europe. The Alexanders are also hosts for the Pasporta Servo, acting as local ambassadors to international travellers visiting the Rochester area.